Norway (2001) | Macau (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | 19 provinces (fylker, singular - fylke); Akershus, Aust-Agder, Buskerud, Finnmark, Hedmark, Hordaland, More og Romsdal, Nordland, Nord-Trondelag, Oppland, Oslo, Ostfold, Rogaland, Sogn og Fjordane, Sor-Trondelag, Telemark, Troms, Vest-Agder, Vestfold | none (special administrative region of China) |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
19.99% (male 462,673; female 437,514) 15-64 years: 64.91% (male 1,482,346; female 1,440,832) 65 years and over: 15.1% (male 282,307; female 397,768) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 15.4% (male 36,413/female 33,981)
15-64 years: 76.6% (male 166,797/female 183,088) 65 years and over: 8% (male 15,541/female 21,169) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | barley, other grains, potatoes; beef, milk; fish | only 2% of land area is cultivated, mainly by vegetable growers; fishing, mostly for crustaceans, is important; some of the catch is exported to Hong Kong |
Airports | 103 (2000 est.) | 1 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
67 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 12 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 28 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
36 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 31 (2000 est.) |
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Area | total:
324,220 sq km land: 307,860 sq km water: 16,360 sq km |
total: 28.2 sq km
land: 28.2 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than New Mexico | less than one-sixth the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Despite its neutrality, Norway was not able to avoid occupation by Germany in World War II. In 1949, neutrality was abandoned and Norway became a member of NATO. Discovery of oil and gas in adjacent waters in the late 1960s boosted Norway's economic fortunes. The current focus is on containing spending on the extensive welfare system and planning for the time when petroleum reserves are depleted. In referenda held in 1972 and 1994, Norway rejected joining the EU. | Colonized by the Portuguese in the 16th century, Macau was the first European settlement in the Far East. Pursuant to an agreement signed by China and Portugal on 13 April 1987, Macau became the Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China on 20 December 1999. China has promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist economic system will not be practiced in Macau, and that Macau will enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defense affairs for the next 50 years. |
Birth rate | 12.6 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.57 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$71.7 billion expenditures: $57.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $3.16 billion
expenditures: $3.16 billion (FY05/06) |
Capital | Oslo | - |
Climate | temperate along coast, modified by North Atlantic Current; colder interior with increased precipitation and colder summers causing glaciers to grow; rainy year-round on west coast | subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers |
Coastline | 21,925 km (includes mainland 3,419 km, large islands 2,413 km, long fjords, numerous small islands, and minor indentations 16,093 km) | 41 km |
Constitution | 17 May 1814, modified in 1884 | Basic Law, approved on 31 March 1993 by China's National People's Congress, is Macau's "mini-constitution" |
Country name | conventional long form:
Kingdom of Norway conventional short form: Norway local long form: Kongeriket Norge local short form: Norge |
conventional long form: Macau Special Administrative Region
conventional short form: Macau local long form: Aomen Tebie Xingzhengqu (Chinese); Regiao Administrativa Especial de Macau (Portuguese) local short form: Aomen (Chinese); Macau (Portuguese) |
Currency | Norwegian krone (NOK) | - |
Death rate | 9.83 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $0 (Norway is a net external creditor) | $3.1 billion (2004) |
Dependency status | - | special administrative region of China |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Robin Chandler DUKE embassy: Drammensveien 18, 0244 Oslo mailing address: PSC 69, Box 1000, APO AE 09707 telephone: [47] (22) 44 85 50 FAX: [47] (22) 43 07 77 |
the US has no offices in Macau; US interests are monitored by the US Consulate General in Hong Kong |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Knut VOLLEBAEK chancery: 2720 34th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 333-6000 FAX: [1] (202) 337-0870 consulate(s) general: Houston, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, and San Francisco |
none (special administrative region of China) |
Disputes - international | territorial claim in Antarctica (Queen Maud Land); Svalbard is the focus of a maritime boundary dispute between Norway and Russia | none |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $1.4 billion (1998) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $NA (2004) |
Economy - overview | The Norwegian economy is a prosperous bastion of welfare capitalism, featuring a combination of free market activity and government intervention. The government controls key areas, such as the vital petroleum sector (through large-scale state enterprises). The country is richly endowed with natural resources - petroleum, hydropower, fish, forests, and minerals - and is highly dependent on its oil production and international oil prices; in 1999, oil and gas accounted for 35% of exports. Only Saudi Arabia exports more oil than Norway. Oslo opted to stay out of the EU during a referendum in November 1994. Growth picked up in 2000 to 2.7%, compared to the meager 0.8% of 1999, but may fall back in 2001. The government moved ahead with privatization in 2000, even proposing the sale of up to one-third of the 100% state-owned oil company Statoil. Despite their high per capita income and generous welfare benefits, Norwegians worry about that time in the next two decades when the oil and gas begin to run out. Accordingly, Norway has been saving its oil-boosted budget surpluses in a Government Petroleum Fund, which is invested abroad and now is valued at more than $43 billion. | Macau's well-to-do economy has remained one of the most open in the world since its reversion to China in 1999. Apparel exports and tourism are mainstays of the economy. Although the territory was hit hard by the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis and the global downturn in 2001, its economy grew 10.1% in 2002, 14.2% in 2003, and 28.6% in 2004 before slowing to 6.7% in 2005. The economic boom was powered by gambling, tourism, and the construction necessary to support such endeavors. China's decision to ease travel restrictions led to a rapid rise in the number of mainland visitors. The opening of Macau's gaming industry to foreign access in 2001 spurred an increase in public works expenditures. The budget also returned to surplus in 2002 because of the surge in visitors from China and a hike in taxes on gambling profits, which generated about 70% of government revenue. Much of Macau's textile industry may move to the mainland due to the termination in 2005 of the Multi-Fiber Agreement, which provided a near guarantee of export markets, leaving the territory more dependent on gambling and trade-related services to generate growth. The Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Macau and mainland China that came into effect on 1 January 2004 offers many Macau-made products tariff-free access to the mainland. The range of products covered by CEPA was expanded on 1 January 2005. |
Electricity - consumption | 110.795 billion kWh (1999) | 2.16 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 8.28 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 6.467 billion kWh (1999) | 341 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 121.084 billion kWh (1999) | 1.947 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
0.63% hydro: 99.11% nuclear: 0% other: 0.26% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Norwegian Sea 0 m highest point: Galdhopiggen 2,469 m |
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Coloane Alto 172.4 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution; acid rain damaging forests and adversely affecting lakes, threatening fish stocks; air pollution from vehicle emissions | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to: Marine Dumping (associate member), Ship Pollution (associate member) |
Ethnic groups | Norwegian (Nordic, Alpine, Baltic), Sami 20,000 | Chinese 95.7%, Macanese (mixed Portuguese and Asian ancestry) 1%, other 3.3% (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | Norwegian kroner per US dollar - 8.7784 (January 2001), 8.8018 (2000), 7.7992 (1999), 7.5451 (1998), 7.0734 (1997), 6.4498 (1996) | patacas per US dollar - 8.0015 (2006), 8.011 (2005), 8.022 (2004), 8.021 (2003), 8.033 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
King HARALD V (since 17 January 1991); Heir Apparent Crown Prince HAAKON MAGNUS, son of the monarch (born 20 July 1973) head of government: Prime Minister Jens STOLTENBERG (since 17 March 2000) cabinet: State Council appointed by the monarch with the approval of the Parliament elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following parliamentary elections, the leader of the largest party or leader of a coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch with the approval of the Parliament |
chief of state: President of China HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003)
head of government: Chief Executive Edmund HO Hau-wah (since 20 December 1999) cabinet: Executive Council consists of one government secretary, three legislators, four businessmen, one pro-Beijing unionist, and one pro-Beijing educator elections: chief executive chosen by a 300-member Election Committee for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 29 August 2004 (next to be held in 2009) election results: Edmund HO Hau-wah reelected received 296 votes; three members submitted blank ballots; one member was absent |
Exports | $59.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 21 bbl/day (2005) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum and petroleum products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, ships, fish | clothing, textiles, footwear, toys, electronics, machinery and parts |
Exports - partners | EU 73% (UK 17%, Germany 11%, Netherlands 10%, Sweden 9%), US 5% (1999) | US 44.1%, China 14.8%, Hong Kong 11.3%, Germany 7.3%, UK 4.1% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | red with a blue cross outlined in white that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) | light green with a lotus flower above a stylized bridge and water in white, beneath an arc of five gold, five-pointed stars: one large in center of arc and four smaller |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $124.1 billion (1999 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
2% industry: 25% services: 73% (1999) |
agriculture: 0.1%
industry: 7.2% services: 92.7% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $27,700 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.7% (2000 est.) | 6.7% (2005) |
Geographic coordinates | 62 00 N, 10 00 E | 22 10 N, 113 33 E |
Geography - note | about two-thirds mountains; some 50,000 islands off its much indented coastline; strategic location adjacent to sea lanes and air routes in North Atlantic; one of most rugged and longest coastlines in world; Norway is the only NATO member having a land boundary with Russia | essentially urban; an area of land reclaimed from the sea measuring 5.2 sq km and known as Cotai now connects the islands of Coloane and Taipa; the island area is connected to the mainland peninsula by three bridges |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | 1 (2007) |
Highways | total:
91,180 km paved: 67,838 km (including 109 km of expressways) unpaved: 23,342 km (1999) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
4.1% highest 10%: 21.8% (1995) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for drugs going into mainland China; consumer of opiates and amphetamines |
Imports | $35.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 12,840 bbl/day (2005) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, foodstuffs | raw materials and semi-manufactured goods, consumer goods (foodstuffs, beverages, tobacco), capital goods, mineral fuels and oils |
Imports - partners | EU 66% (Sweden 15%, Germany 12%, UK 9%, Denmark 7%), US 10%, Japan (1999) | China 45.2%, Hong Kong 10.2%, Japan 8.4%, US 5.5%, Singapore 4.1%, France 4% (2006) |
Independence | 7 June 1905 Norway declared the union with Sweden dissolved; 26 October 1905 Sweden agreed to the repeal of the union | none (special administrative region of China) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Industries | petroleum and gas, food processing, shipbuilding, pulp and paper products, metals, chemicals, timber, mining, textiles, fishing | tourism, gambling, clothing, textiles, electronics, footwear, toys |
Infant mortality rate | 3.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 4.33 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.51 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.13 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.9% (2000 est.) | 4.4% (2005) |
International organization participation | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (associate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC | IHO, IMF, IMO (associate), ISO (correspondent), UNESCO (associate), UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 13 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 970 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Hoyesterett (justices appointed by the monarch) | Court of Final Appeal in Macau Special Administrative Region |
Labor force | 2.4 million (2000 est.) | 248,000 (2005) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 74%, industry 22%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 4% (1995) | manufacturing 13.7%, construction 10.5%, transport and communications 5.9%, wholesale and retail trade 14.6%, restaurants and hotels 10.3%, gambling 17.9%, public sector 7.8%, other services and agriculture 19.3% (2005 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
2,515 km border countries: Finland 729 km, Sweden 1,619 km, Russia 167 km |
total: 0.34 km
regional border: China 0.34 km |
Land use | arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 27% other: 70% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Languages | Norwegian (official)
note: small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities |
Cantonese 87.9%, Hokkien 4.4%, Mandarin 1.6%, other Chinese dialects 3.1%, other 3% (2001 census) |
Legal system | mixture of customary law, civil law system, and common law traditions; Supreme Court renders advisory opinions to legislature when asked; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on Portuguese civil law system |
Legislative branch | modified unicameral Parliament or Storting which, for certain purposes, divides itself into two chambers (165 seats; members are elected by popular vote by proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 15 September 1997 (next to be held 10 September 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - Labor Party 35%, Center Party 7.9%, Conservative Party 14.3%, Christian People's Party 13.7%, Socialist Left Party 6%, Progress Party 15.3%, Liberal Party 4.4%, other parties 1.6%; seats by party - Labor Party 65, Center Party 11, Conservative Party 23, Christian People's Party 25, Socialist Left Party 9, Progress Party 25, Liberal Party 6, other parties 1 note: for certain purposes, the Parliament divides itself into two chambers and elects one-fourth of its membership to an upper house or Lagting |
unicameral Legislative Assembly (29 seats; 12 members elected by popular vote, 10 by indirect vote, and 7 appointed by the chief executive; to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25 September 2005 (next in September 2009) election results: percent of vote - New Democratic Macau Association 18.8%, Macau United Citizens' Association 16.6%, Union for Development 13.3%, Union for Promoting Progress 9.6%, Macau Development Alliance 9.3%, others 32.4%; seats by political group - New Democratic Macau Association 2, Macau United Citizens' Association 2, Union for Development 2, Union for Promoting Progress 2, Macau Development Alliance 1, others 3; 10 seats filled by professional and business groups; seven members appointed by chief executive |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
78.79 years male: 75.87 years female: 81.92 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 82.27 years
male: 79.44 years female: 85.25 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 100% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91.3% male: 95.3% female: 87.8% (2001 census) |
Location | Northern Europe, bordering the North Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Sweden | Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China |
Map references | Europe | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
10 NM continental shelf: 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 4 NM |
not specified |
Merchant marine | total:
764 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 20,667,370 GRT/32,100,208 DWT ships by type: bulk 89, cargo 139, chemical tanker 114, combination bulk 9, combination ore/oil 37, container 15, liquefied gas 84, passenger 10, petroleum tanker 151, refrigerated cargo 10, roll on/roll off 45, short-sea passenger 22, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 38 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 1, Japan 1, Mexico 1, Sweden 1 (2000 est.) |
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Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of China |
Military branches | Norwegian Army, Royal Norwegian Navy (includes Coast Artillery and Coast Guard), Royal Norwegian Air Force, Home Guard | no regular military forces |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $3.113 billion (FY98) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.1% (FY98) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,101,384 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
913,534 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
27,341 (2001 est.) |
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National holiday | Constitution Day, 17 May (1814); note - 17 May 1814 is the date of independence from Sweden, 7 June 1905 is the date Norway declared the union with Sweden was dissolved | National Day (Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China), 1 October (1949); note - 20 December 1999 is celebrated as Macau Special Administrative Region Establishment Day |
Nationality | noun:
Norwegian(s) adjective: Norwegian |
noun: Chinese
adjective: Chinese |
Natural hazards | rockslides, avalanches | typhoons |
Natural resources | petroleum, copper, natural gas, pyrites, nickel, iron ore, zinc, lead, fish, timber, hydropower | NEGL |
Net migration rate | 2.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | refined petroleum products 53 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | Center Party [Odd Roger ENOKSEN]; Christian People's Party [Kiell Magne BONDEVIK]; Conservative Party [Jan PETERSEN]; Labor Party [Jens STOLTENBERG]; Liberal Party [Lars SPONHEIM]; Progress Party [Carl I. HAGEN]; Socialist Left Party [Kristin HALVORSEN] | Civil Service Union [Jose Maria Pereira COUTINHO]; Development Union [KWAN Tsui-hang]; Macau Development Alliance [Angela LEONG On-kei]; Macau United Citizens' Association [CHAN Meng-kam]; New Democratic Macau Association [Antonio NG Kuok-cheong]; United Forces |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 4,503,440 (July 2001 est.) | 456,989 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.49% (2001 est.) | 0.841% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bergen, Drammen, Floro, Hammerfest, Harstad, Haugesund, Kristiansand, Larvik, Narvik, Oslo, Porsgrunn, Stavanger, Tromso, Trondheim | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM at least 650, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 0, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 4.03 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
4,012 km standard gauge: 4,012 km 1.435-m gauge (2,530 km electrified; 96 km double track) (1998) |
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Religions | Evangelical Lutheran 86% (state church), other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%, other 1%, none and unknown 10% (1997) | Buddhist 50%, Roman Catholic 15%, none and other 35% (1997 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.072 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.911 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.734 male(s)/female total population: 0.918 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | direct election 18 years of age, universal for permanent residents living in Macau for the past seven years; indirect election limited to organizations registered as "corporate voters" (257 are currently registered) and a 300-member Election Committee drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, and central government bodies |
Telephone system | general assessment:
modern in all respects; one of the most advanced telecommunications networks in Europe domestic: Norway has a domestic satellite system; moreover the prevalence of rural areas encourages the wide use of cellular mobile systems instead of fixed wire systems international: 2 buried coaxial cable systems; 4 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - NA Eutelsat, NA Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), and 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions); note - Norway shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Sweden) (1999) |
general assessment: fairly modern communication facilities maintained for domestic and international services
domestic: NA international: country code - 853; HF radiotelephone communication facility; access to international communications carriers provided via Hong Kong and China; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2.735 million (1998) | 176,700 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,080,408 (1998) | 636,300 (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 360 (plus 2,729 repeaters) (1995) | 1 (2006) |
Terrain | glaciated; mostly high plateaus and rugged mountains broken by fertile valleys; small, scattered plains; coastline deeply indented by fjords; arctic tundra in north | generally flat |
Total fertility rate | 1.81 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.03 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 3% (2000 est.) | 4.1% (2005) |
Waterways | 1,577 km (along west coast)
note: navigable by 2.4 m maximum draft vessels |
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